Ryan Adams

Financial Planner

Before founding Wildwood Financial Group, I spent a decade in the classroom. As a high school science teacher and later an adjunct professor, my job was to take complex, intimidating subjects and make them understandable, actionable, and, most importantly, useful for my students. That commitment to clarity earned me the honor of being named Teacher of the Year for the Douglas County School System.

However, as I began navigating the world of finance myself, I noticed a troubling literacy gap.

I saw brilliant people—engineers, healthcare professionals, and small business owners—who were experts in their own fields but felt completely lost when it came to their retirement. I realized that the financial industry wasn’t designed to teach; it was designed to sell. Most people weren’t being given a plan. Instead, they were being given a sales pitch filled with jargon that left them more confused than when they started.

I saw retirees struggling with the “alphabet soup” of RMDs, IRAs, and Social Security strategies, often making permanent mistakes simply because no one had taken the time to explain the “why” behind the numbers.

I realized that what Chattanooga needed wasn’t another stockbroker—it needed a teacher.

I founded Wildwood Financial Group to bridge that literacy gap. I traded my classroom chalkboard for a financial blueprint, but my mission remained the same: to empower people through education. Whether I’m hosting “Financial Strategies Knoxville” on the radio, appearing on News Channel 9, or facilitating workshops at Chattanooga State Community College, I approach every portfolio with the Heart of a Teacher.

At Wildwood, we don’t just manage your wealth. We ensure you graduate into retirement with the clarity and confidence you’ve earned.